


First Date?

by thatfragilecapricorn



Category: The X-Files
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-21
Updated: 2020-10-21
Packaged: 2021-03-09 06:02:38
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,186
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27139091
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thatfragilecapricorn/pseuds/thatfragilecapricorn
Summary: Mulder and Scully's "first date"
Relationships: Fox Mulder/Dana Scully
Comments: 1
Kudos: 25
Collections: XF First Dates Challenge





	First Date?

“Mulder, do you want to get dinner this Friday?”  
He looked up from the file he was reviewing to see Scully standing by his desk. It was 5 pm and she was on her way out. Her jacket was folded neatly over her arm and she held her briefcase just so, making her look every bit a Navy captain’s daughter. 

He regarded her suspiciously. “Is this a trap, Scully?”

She rolled her eyes. “No, it’s just dinner.”

“Why?” he asked. They hadn’t spent much time together when they weren’t on a case and he still wasn’t completely sure she wasn’t spying on him. 

She let out a world-weary sigh. “Okay, if you must know, my mother wants me to help her go through her attic, so I need an excuse to get out of it.”

Mulder put his hand to his heart. “Oh my, you want to use me to get out of helping your mother?”

“It will be my treat,” she said sweetly.

Mulder smiled too. “Well, in that case, yes. Anything to help a rebellious child stick it to her parents.”

“Great, it’s a date then,” Scully said happily. 

Mulder watched her walk out of the office and considered her word choice. A date? Hmm...  
\----

Now, Mulder knew that Scully wasn’t inviting him out on a real date. She was a consummate professional (much to Mulder’s dismay) and he recognized that she wouldn’t do something inappropriate to jeopardize her career. It was her coolness that enticed Mulder to ruffle her feathers a little, to try to get a blush to rise on her fair skin. He thought this would be the perfect opportunity.

Mulder showed up at her apartment, holding a bouquet of daisies that he picked up from the florist. Scully opened the door, still clearly getting ready as she tried to put in an earring one-handed.

“Mulder! What are you doing here? I thought we were meeting at the restaurant?” Her eyes travelled to his hands. “You brought flowers?” She looked confused.

“Of course! What kind of date would I be if I didn’t bring a gift and let you drive yourself?” Mulder stepped in and winked.

“Mulder, this isn’t an actual date,” she said, but still took the flowers from him and walked to the kitchen.

“That’s not what you said the other day,” he replied, trying not to laugh.

“You realize that’s just an expression, right?” she called from the kitchen, over the water running.

“Whatever you say, dear,” he responded, his mind coming up with a few other ways to annoy her.

\----

Mulder opened the car door for Scully and let her walk into the restaurant before him, making a show of his chivalry. Scully had chosen a pub downtown, nicer than the diners they usually frequented on cases, but way more Mulder’s style, for which he was glad. Even though he grew up going to fancy dinners and cotillion balls, he always felt uncomfortable in extravagant settings. 

When the server came over to get their drink order, Mulder placed his hand on Scully’s and told the server that it was their first date. 

“Oh, that’s so nice,” she said.

“No, it’s actually not,” Scully announced, glaring at Mulder and pulling her hand back.

He held back a grin as the waitress left their table with their order, clearly confused by the two of them.

Scully was still glaring at him, so he held up his hands in surrender, “Okay, okay, I’ll stop.”

“Thank you,” Scully said primly, but her eyes said you better.  
The rest of the dinner passed pleasantly, but Mulder felt bad for giving his partner a hard time, so he offered to buy her a drink. Surprisingly, Scully accepted and they found themselves at a bar that he used to go to while in the Academy. It was closer to a dive, but clean enough that Mulder didn’t feel bad taking Scully there. He brought back two shots to their table and Scully wrinkled her nose.

“Tequila, Mulder? Really?” she said.

“Scully, if you’re hungover tomorrow, it’s another excuse to get out of helping your mother,” he replied.

She considered this for a moment and surprised Mulder by saying, “Cheers,” before clinking her glass with his and downing the shot.

Mulder stared at her, impressed. She knocked back the liquor like a pro and didn’t lose a drop in the process. He realized that there was so much he didn’t know about her and was looking forward to learning more.

“So, cleaning out your parents’ attic, huh?” Mulder asked, after he got them each a beer. “Maybe I should go help your mom. I want to see some baby pictures of Agent Dana Scully.”

“There’s no way I’m letting you get near any old photos of me,” she said, chuckling.

“Why? I bet you were adorable,” he stated with a smile.

“Junior high was not a good look for me,” was all she said, which intrigued Mulder but he let it go.

Scully explained that her mother was very sentimental and saved every last piece of artwork and report card from her kids, and if you multiply that by four it was a lot of stuff. Mulder commiserated with Scully and told her about his old family home on Martha’s Vineyard that his mother was trying to get him to clean out as well. They shared their war stories from Quantico and Mulder made Scully laugh so hard at an impression of one of the instructors that she choked on her drink. After an hour of chatting Mulder drove Scully back to her place.

“Thanks for inviting me, Scully. Even if it wasn’t actually a date,” he said with an exaggerated pout.

Scully got out of the car, but before she closed the door said, “I had fun, Mulder. Thanks for helping me play hooky.”

He watched her until she unlocked the front door of her building and hoped that he would get another non-date night like this with his partner, who wasn’t quite as buttoned up as he assumed or expected.

\-----

Years later, Mulder would smile to himself whenever he thought of that dinner. Rolling over in bed, he asked Scully, “Hey, do you remember our first date?” 

She peeked one eye open and looked confused. “When we played baseball?”

He scoffed. “No, silly, back when you took me to dinner! When we first started working together.”

Scully started giggling, “Mulder, for the last time, that wasn’t a date!”

“Well, I consider that to be our first date,” he said petulantly, only half joking. 

She leaned up on her elbow to stroke his cheek, “Aw, you wish. I was much more discerning back then when selecting boyfriends.”

Mulder laughed, even though the joke was at his expense, “That was cold, Scully.”

She leaned in closer and lowered her voice. “But I’ll take you on a real date tonight.”

He was becoming spellbound, like he did every time they were only a hair’s breadth apart. “How will I know it’s real?” he whispered.

“Because it will end like this,” she said before she kissed him.


End file.
